[Click to Enlarge] Investiture scene above the late Sassanian armored knight at the vault at Tagh-e Bostan. To the left stands Goddess Anahita with her right hand raised, holding a diadem of glory or “Farr” towards Khosrow II at center who receives a diadem with his right hand from Ahura-Mazda or the chief Magus. Anahita was a revered goddess of war among Sassanian warriors (Source: Shahyar Mahabadi, 2004).

Village of Palangan at Dusk (Source: Amos Chapple of www.guardian.co.uk)

Image of an angelic figure at Taghe Bostan (Photo courtesy of Amiri-Parian).

An Iranian-Kurdish woman chats on her mobile phone in the city of Marivan in Iran’s Kurdistan province (Source: Reuters-Morteza Nikoubazl).

[Click to Enlarge] The Anahita Temple at Kangāvar in Kermanshah Province. The Kangavar remains reveal a Hellenistic character at the edifice, with Iranian architectural designs. The column base for example, features very large dimensions measuring at just over 200m on a side. This combined with the site’s megalithic foundations, are harking back to the Achaemenid tradition of stone platforms, which are distinctly Persian in character (Source: Trek Earth).

About Dr. Kaveh Farrokh

Dr. Kaveh Farrokh is dedicated to the Advancement of Ancient Iranian and Classical Studies. The relationship between ancient Iran and the civilizations of the Greco-Roman world (and its European successors), India, China and the Far East, and the Arabo-Islamic world are a major focus of this website. Civilizations are rarely conceived in a vacuum and are often the result of the synthesis of a number of elements, examples being the Roman Empire, ancient Iran and India.